Chapter 392: The First Signs of Crisis

Something's not right…

Li Yan frowned, continuing to observe his surroundings.

This place was most likely the former territory of Wu Ba's tribe, later seized by the Heavenly Holy Sect—but now it had clearly changed again.

The bones were piled haphazardly, all a sickly white, their flesh completely stripped away, indicating they'd been boiled and carelessly discarded like trash.

But the skulls were different.

They were fashioned into a skull tower—to boast, and to instill terror.

Nearby were torn fragments of clothing…

The target of this terror was unmistakably humans!

Li Yan quickly reached his conclusion.

This place had certainly been seized by some savage tribe, and very likely, they were at war with the Heavenly Holy Sect!

At that moment, movement appeared on the cliff.

Several massive dark shadows emerged from the ancient cave dwellings and stood on the stone platform, scanning the area.

Li Yan felt a chill run down his spine.

These "things" stood tall—at least three meters—with bear-like lower bodies, thick matted hair on their heads, thick lips, and broad brow ridges, yet unmistakably human facial contours.

Stranger still, each had only one arm, growing from the chest, and one leg, as thick as its torso.

Shen Kui—human face, beast body, single arm, single leg…

What he'd read in books was nothing like seeing it with his own eyes; Li Yan couldn't fathom how such a thing could exist in this world.

Of course, these weren't animals—they were classified purely as mountain spirits, naturally born aberrations.

Zhā—!

Zhā——!

Suddenly, cries echoed from the sky, varying in length.

Then a gust of wind swept through as several dark shadows descended, flapping their wings—each also three meters tall, with wingspans of seven to eight meters, resembling owls, yet bearing human faces.

They were the very creatures that had attacked the falcons!

Li Yan now noticed that the facial contours of these "human-faced owls" were nearly identical to those of the "Shen Kui," and their lower bodies ended in a single massive talon.

The "human-faced owls" circled overhead while the "Shen Kui" below, far from fearing them, dragged roasted meat chunks from the cave and hurled them upward, where the owls snatched and tore them apart.

"Zhā zhā! Gē gē dá dá…"

The two sides exchanged sounds, as if conversing.

And they were speaking Upper Tongue!

Seeing their similar faces, Li Yan suddenly had a thought: these "human-faced owls" were another form of "Shen Kui."

They belonged to the same tribe but had different roles.

The Inside Shennongjia truly was extraordinary.

The Da Xuan Guai Lu was a compilation of centuries of hunter experience, countless ancestral insights—yet it had never recorded such a phenomenon.

After feasting, the "human-faced owls" took flight again, vanishing into the thick mist.

The "Shen Kui" yawned and slithered back into the caves, clearly preparing to sleep.

Li Yan pulled out his pocket watch—it was just past noon, third watch.

These creatures likely slept by day and moved at night, while the owls served as sentinels and scouts.

They attacked the falcons immediately upon sighting them, proving they recognized them as spies—likely learned from their conflict with the Heavenly Holy Sect…

Thinking of this, Li Yan silently and swiftly withdrew.

Back in the hidden forest, Li Yan recounted everything he'd seen and heard.

"This is trouble…"

Sha Li Fei frowned, "The Heavenly Holy Sect's demons must be ahead. To guard against the Shen Kui, they'll have heavy forces posted—slipping in to scout won't be easy."

Everyone's faces grew grim; they all grasped the critical point.

The Shen Kui tribe had driven out the Heavenly Holy Sect—they clearly possessed far more power than this. Who knew how many more slept within those ancient caves?

And the Heavenly Holy Sect had managed to make the Shen Kui tribe so wary.

Their strength was not to be underestimated.

They were caught between them—provoking either side would be disastrous.

Li Yan pondered, then turned. "Lu San, can you control animals to scout the area?"

"No."

Lu San's face was grave. "I've tried. All wild beasts in this region are under some spell—they can only be calmed, not commanded. At best, I can keep them silent so they don't betray our presence."

"Earlier, when the human-faced owls passed, nearby birds tried to cry out—I managed to quiet them."

Li Yan frowned. "According to the Da Xuan Guai Lu, Shen Kui don't just control beasts—they command the mountain's spirits and demons."

"At night, it'll be far more dangerous. If we can't find a way through before dark, we must leave immediately."

"Me! Me!"

At that moment, Wu Ba waved his arms frantically, then pointed to the ground. "Small person, small person, find them!"

Wu Ba's entire talent lay in his muscles; after so long learning human speech, he still often struggled to express himself clearly—but everyone could tell he had a plan.

Lu San quickly communicated with him in Upper Tongue.

After a brief exchange, Lu San frowned. "Wu Ba says there's a tunnel below, but it was sealed with mud to prevent the 'Jing Ren' from stealing things."

"The other end of the tunnel opens into those ancient caves—but only the 'Jing Ren' know the entrance locations."

Li Yan pondered. "The 'Jing Ren' dwell near deities—does that mean there's a god nearby?"

Wu Ba quickly gestured again. "Eat, eat, afraid… friend!"

Lu San explained: "Wu Ba says the 'Jing Ren' are merely driven off, but the 'Shen Kui' hunt and devour them. We might persuade the 'Jing Ren' to help."

"Fine. Let's look first."

Li Yan immediately agreed.

Whether they could pass the line was secondary—they had to find cover before nightfall, or they'd be exposed.

No matter how absurd the plan, if there was hope, it was worth trying—there were no better options.

He pressed his left thumb against the second joint of his index finger, activating the Yang Seal, unlocking his spiritual power, and drew a deep breath.

Instantly, scents flooded his nostrils.

With his current cultivation, he could detect odors up to three hundred meters away and ten meters underground—but that was his normal state.

If he pushed his full potential, he could double that range.

Beneath ten meters, he detected no trace of the 'Jing Ren' tunnel.

Li Yan focused entirely, unleashing his full power.

Finally, at twenty meters underground, he caught an unusual scent—moving erratically, just like at Xianshan.

"Found it!"

Li Yan snapped open his eyes and led the group leftward.

The 'Jing Ren' tunnel branched everywhere, but as they went left, the ground noticeably rose—likely one of the exits.

Not far ahead, the sound of wings slicing the air returned.

Everyone hid instantly. Only after three patrols of human-faced owls passed did they continue.

As Wu Ba said, these "human-faced owls" were cunning—they never landed lightly. If they spotted enemies, they'd shriek loudly.

Some would pursue, others would return to alert—like burrowing parasites, quickly drawing swarms of "Shen Kui."

The "Shen Kui" weren't just immensely strong—they could command the forest's beasts and spirits. When they came, they came in droves—extremely troublesome.

Because of the owl patrols, their progress slowed drastically.

Even so, after half an hour, they found their target.

"Shh!"

Li Yan signaled silence and peered down through the shrubbery.

Ahead lay a hollowed hillside, thick with greenery, tangled vines, and towering trees casting deep shade—making the hollow dark and damp.

Between the vines, mushrooms grew densely—strange shapes, bizarre forms, vividly colored.

Tiny human figures darted among them. Their fur was thick, their features rat-like, clad in leaf garments, necklaces of small jade pendants, hacking at the mushrooms with jade axes.

Their bodies radiated a strong incense scent.

Li Yan, smelling it, became certain: a deity must dwell nearby—otherwise, the 'Jing Ren' tribe would have perished.

The mushrooms clearly contained deadly poison.

Yet to the 'Jing Ren,' they were a delicacy—some, after cutting one down, couldn't resist slipping a piece into their mouths.

After chewing, the thief's face flushed red, as if drunk, stumbling and swaying—drawing shouts and blows from the others.

Li Yan glanced at Lu San.

He hadn't forgotten: the 'Jing Ren' could earth-dive. If startled, they'd vanish instantly into the soil.

To communicate, only Lu San could act.

Lu San nodded, pulling out a bone flute.

!.

In this situation, to avoid scaring off all the 'Jing Ren,' they had to use the secret method of the Shanhai Lingying Jing immediately.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a dark shadow swooped down.

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

The dark shadow let out a loud cry, carrying a soul-shaking force; the "Jing people" immediately staggered and fell, but most instantly burrowed into the earth and vanished.

Only after the dark shadow landed did the others see clearly—it was a strange bird, somewhat like a wild pheasant, with a greenish-blue body, crimson eyes, and beautiful fiery red tail feathers.

It looked somewhat like a wild pheasant, but its head resembled a duck's.

After landing, the strange bird shook its head and snatched up a fainted "Jing person" in its beak, swallowing it with a jerking motion of its neck.

Li Yan's eyes flashed with sharp light, and he instantly leapt forward.

Mid-air, the Soul-Severing Flying Knife shot out from its sheath, circling around him in flight.

Li Yan unleashed hidden power beneath his feet, launching like an arrow released from a bow; with two bounds up the slope, he soared high and landed in the valley below.

Splash!

The strange bird, startled, flapped its wings and took to the air.

Li Yan was already airborne, and the Soul-Severing Flying Knife shot out at once.

The strange bird was extremely agile; it fluttered its wings mid-air as if defying physics, drifting sideways to evade the flying knife.

A normal flying knife would never have caught it, but Li Yan merely thought of it, and the Soul-Severing Flying Knife bent sharply in mid-air—pfft! —piercing the bird's abdomen.

Li Yan casually snatched it up, landed, and ignored it for now, instead grabbing another leather sack and stuffing in several dazed "Jing people" who hadn't had time to escape.

Sha Sha Li Fei and the others hurried down from the valley ridge.

"Young Master Li, what is this?"

They knew that if Li Yan hadn't acted in time, all the "Jing people" would have fled—finding them again would be next to impossible.

What puzzled them was why Li Yan had captured this strange bird.

Li Yan smiled, lifting the dead bird. "If I'm not mistaken, Yun Feng Lingzi was searching for this."

"It's the Ao!"

Wang Wang Daoxuan's eyes lit up; he stroked his beard. "Yes, its form resembles a duck, with a green body, red eyes, and a crimson tail. Eating it promotes fertility—it must be this one."

The "Ao" seemed unimpressive, but it was an exotic bird recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas—eating it grants fertility.

They had seen the power of the Feiyi.

This "Ao" might fetch a high price too.

Upon hearing this, Sha Sha Li Fei beamed with delight, carefully took the bird, and hurried off to process it.

Meanwhile, Lu San approached Li Yan and cautiously opened the leather sack.

Inside, several "Jing people" had awakened, staring at them in terror.

Lu San muttered in the Upper Tongue, trying to communicate with the "Jing people," but the little creatures all remained silent, even raising their jade knives and axes to slit their own throats.

"Ai ga ga ga…"

At that moment, Wu Ba sidled up and spoke in the Upper Tongue too—but with a furious expression, cursing loudly.

This seemed to ignite a firestorm.

The "Jing people" inside the sack leapt up and began shouting curses in return.

After a brief exchange, both sides seemed to realize something, fell silent simultaneously, and resumed communicating in the Upper Tongue.

Seeing this, Lu San whispered an explanation to the side.

"The Renxiao tribe and the 'Jing people' have disputes, but they can barely coexist—even when food is scarce, they sometimes give each other supplies…"

"Wu Ba accuses the 'Jing people' of being ungrateful: when the Renxiao tribe was attacked, not one of them showed up to help. The 'Jing people' blame them for bringing outsiders and disrupting the peace of this land…"

"These few 'Jing people' say they've relocated—their god was severely wounded, nearly eaten by the God-Chief…"

"Eaten a god?"

Li Yan, upon hearing this, was also startled.

He immediately understood: the god these "Jing people" served was no powerful deity, but a great mountain demon like the Old Ancestor of Donghu—still possessing a physical body, yet whose soul was sustained by the "Jing people's" worship.

Thinking of this, Li Yan spoke at once: "Tell them we are not enemies—we may be able to heal their 'god,' but we must first see the god."

Lu San immediately relayed this in the Upper Tongue, and Wu Ba chimed in beside him; the "Jing people" listened, then hesitated.

The leader among them suddenly spoke, muttering rapidly.

Lu San turned and said: "They want us to release them first. They must return and report to the 'god' before deciding."

Li Yan did not hesitate: "Let them go!"

Force wouldn't work—they had to show sincerity first.

After opening the sack, the "Jing people" tumbled out, scattering like panicked rabbits, instantly vanishing into the earth.

Splash!

Above, the thick mist once again rang with the sound of flapping wings.

The group could only hide among the grasses and wait.

They waited—two full hours.

As dusk approached, Sha Sha Li Fei muttered in exasperation: "These little devils aren't honest—they're clearly fooling us."

Li Yan was also helpless. "Let's go. Retreat near the Hunting Path first, then think of another plan…"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly looked down at the ground.

Several "Jing people" had emerged, gesturing frantically and muttering to them.

Lu San's eyes brightened. "They agree! Follow them!"

Without a word, the group sprinted after the "Jing people," reaching a deep pool just as the sun was about to set.

The "Jing people" muttered, pointing at the water, then used Earth-Diversion Technique to burrow underground and vanish.

Lu San hurriedly said: "The cave is below!"

"I'll scout ahead!"

Li Yan immediately used the Dark Water Diversion Technique, leaping into the pool to investigate. He soon surfaced and said: "Three meters to the right, the underwater passage is short—there's a cavern inside, no danger."

Hearing this, the group quickly packed their gear, sealing all firearms in oil paper, then jumped into the water.

Li Yan held the rear as guard.

Once everyone was underwater, the sun finally set. Splash! Flapping wings and beastly roars rose from above; dark mists swirled through the trees—the God-Chief tribe had begun to stir.

Li Yan cast one last deep look, then dove into the pool.

From the former Renxiao tribe's ancient cave site, one after another God-Chief emerged, waving their single arms, howling wildly, their eyes glowing crimson in the dark.

On the cliff above the ruins, an even larger God-Chief emerged—five meters tall, covered in white fur, clutching a tattered, ragged banner.

As the banner swayed, a chilling wind howled through the dense forest.

At the same time, from the southern region where the Heavenly Saint Sect was located, a roar echoed—vast and piercing, like the cry of a dragon…

Second chapter, afternoon

(End of chapter)